Four Downs: Bye Week Edition

Bye weeks? Not for football beat writer Christian Araos. Here are the top stories as the Bombers enjoy their weekend off.

Life is hard at the top

The two Empire 8 Conference teams in the d3football.com top 10 poll, No. 7 Salisbury University and No. 9 St. John Fisher College, struggled to meet high expectations Saturday.

The Seagulls hosted third-ranked Wesley University in the game of the week Saturday night, but could not find a way to stop Wesley’s offense and lost 17-7.

Fisher, who was on the road at Washington & Jefferson College, escaped by the skin of their teeth for the second straight week. Fisher’s offense only generated nine passing yards in the first half, but was bailed out by a defense that kept the Presidents out of the end zone. The Cardinals defense generated a touchdown of its own and came up with two takeaways in the game’s final three minutes to seal the 28-24 victory.

Never mind that whole ‘fear-the-newcomer’ thing

One week after torching SUNY-Cortland for almost 600 yards of total offense and 49 points, Buffalo State crashed back to Earth with a 38-24 loss to SUNY-Brockport. This is not to say that the Bengals are going to be a bad team, but they are not going to be upsetting the old guard this year because Brockport came into this season ranked seventh out of nine teams in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Flicked off, picked off

Alfred University, projected to finish above the Bombers in the Empire 8, went down without much of a trace in a 24-6 loss to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. Alfred junior quarterback Zach Sopak threw three interceptions and was sacked four times. The highlight of the game came when RPI scored the game’s final score with a flea-flicker in the fourth quarter. On the play, senior quarterback Mike Herrman narrowly avoided a sack, but was able to connect with junior wide receiver Reggie Colas for the 49-yard touchdown.

Thoughts and Prayers with Devon

In a horrifying helmet-to-helmet collision, University of Tulane strong safety Devon Walker suffered a broken neck and a collapsed lung. Walker was revived on the field and needed a tracheotomy. He is now in a local hospital in stable condition.